Magic tricks and devices have long been used to entertain audiences. In an early publication titled “Scots Discovery of Witchcraft” (1651) there is disclosed a magic trick methodology referred to herein as retraction where one portion of an object is retracted into another to produce the illusion of movement. In the Scots reference there is disclosed a “bodkin” where a blade portion is retracted into a handle to produce the illusion of the blade penetrating the body.
Another methodology for producing a different effect from retraction is referred to as a “pull.” In a “pull” trick, a line is attached to an object. The line is biased, such as by having a weight attached to one end to fall within the magician's coat or pant leg or by using an elastic line. The magician holds the object, e.g. a handkerchief, against the bias and at the appropriate time releases the object at which time. As a result of the bias of the line, the object is pulled into a coat sleeve or vest to produce the illusion that the object has disappeared.
Heretofore the methodologies of retraction and pull have been mutually exclusive. That is, a retraction trick need not employ a pull since the very illusion produced by the retraction was sufficient to produce the desired illusion. Conversely, a pull trick was thought to be sufficient in its own right without adding a retraction. To my knowledge no one has combined the retraction and pull concepts or methodologies into a single magic trick illusion.